Tailings Ponds
Tailings are stored mainly in discontinued mine shafts and consist of sand, silt, clay, water, various chemicals and residual bitumen. Once the materials have settled, the top three layers of the tailings pond are recycled back into the mining operation. The middle layer, called, Mature Fine Tailings, contains bitumen, ammonia, sulphate and other toxic chemicals. Since the lifetimes of these materials are unknown the oil sands industry is deprived of the particular knowledge needed to determine how long the tailings should be stored for. Although tailings ponds are a sufficient way to recycle water within the industries, they do have negative effects. Some ponds are situated in a close proximity to the Athabasca River. Due to the closeness, if any walls were breached toxic chemicals could pose dangerous to aquatic ecosystems within a close proximity. According to a report by Canadian Advocacy and Research Organization of Environmental Defense, in 2008, tailings leak an estimated amount of eleven million liters of contaminated water a day. Tailings ponds in close proximity to the Athabasca River are not the only contaminants, if an tailings leak, the contaminated water could infiltrate and seep into ground water. However, the lifetimes of the harmful chemicals are known to last longer than a few decades and it may only take one or two decades for the groundwater to reach surface water.
The chemicals and materials found in tailings ponds have been proven to cause harmful affects. One chemical, ammonia, has alkaline properties that are not only corrosive and irritating to the skin but can dissolve easily into water and pose a threat to the environment. Ammonia's long term affects on aquatic life consist of: a shortened lifespan, reproductive problems, lowered fertility and changes in behavior or appearance, harm to fish gills has also been recorded. Due to ammonia's chemical aspects the death of birds and fish may occur along with stunted plant growth. Vincent V. Rogers and several authors of the Oxford Journals, wrote about an experiment conducted with the most significant chemicals of tailings ponds deposits. The experiment was conducted using male and female wistar rats, affects of the chemicals and pollutants were:
- Brain hemorrhaging
-Heart complications
-Lung issues
The leakage and contamination of the Athabasca River due to tailings ponds could potentially cause a chain affect, possibly damaging a food chain or food web of an ecosystem. For example, if the primary energy source (the sun) aids algae, a producer, in the process of photosynthesis, a primary consumer, like a minnow would eat the algae for nutrients and a secondary consumer, such as northern pike would then eat theminnow. However, if the minnow or algae is polluted by tailings ponds leakage, then consumers on a higher trophic level may become contaminated. Not only will this pollution cause an obscene amounts of deaths and drops in populations but also may damage a food web by depleting or endangering a large amount of species in the aquatic system.
The chemicals and materials found in tailings ponds have been proven to cause harmful affects. One chemical, ammonia, has alkaline properties that are not only corrosive and irritating to the skin but can dissolve easily into water and pose a threat to the environment. Ammonia's long term affects on aquatic life consist of: a shortened lifespan, reproductive problems, lowered fertility and changes in behavior or appearance, harm to fish gills has also been recorded. Due to ammonia's chemical aspects the death of birds and fish may occur along with stunted plant growth. Vincent V. Rogers and several authors of the Oxford Journals, wrote about an experiment conducted with the most significant chemicals of tailings ponds deposits. The experiment was conducted using male and female wistar rats, affects of the chemicals and pollutants were:
- Brain hemorrhaging
-Heart complications
-Lung issues
The leakage and contamination of the Athabasca River due to tailings ponds could potentially cause a chain affect, possibly damaging a food chain or food web of an ecosystem. For example, if the primary energy source (the sun) aids algae, a producer, in the process of photosynthesis, a primary consumer, like a minnow would eat the algae for nutrients and a secondary consumer, such as northern pike would then eat theminnow. However, if the minnow or algae is polluted by tailings ponds leakage, then consumers on a higher trophic level may become contaminated. Not only will this pollution cause an obscene amounts of deaths and drops in populations but also may damage a food web by depleting or endangering a large amount of species in the aquatic system.
Deforestation
Deforestation is the state of clearing trees. In the Boreal Forest, located in Banff, Alberta, Canada, humans are cutting down trees for lumber. The amount of trees are decreasing at a rate of 1% per year; this decrease is similar to the deforestation in tropical rain forests.
If humans continue to cut down trees in the Boreal Forest, a large population of birds will need to find a new niche and living location including: warblers, siskins, thrushes, flycatchers, kinglets, grosbeaks, sparrows. It is also the "spring nursery" for 3 billion migrating birds. As for most of the species in the Boreal Forest, they will not survive the deforestation that will continually destroy their habitat. The trees in the forest absorb greenhouse gases. Without the trees to absorb these gases, the severity of global warming will increase. If deforestation continues in Banff, there will be more carbon released into the atmosphere, further adding to carbon emissions.
Deforestation also drives climate change. When the sun isn't blocked by trees, the soil can easily dry out. This can quickly turn a forest into an arid desert. Trees are also a main factor in the water cycle. They return water vapor into the atmosphere. Trees block the sun's rays during the day and hold heat in the nighttime. If all or the majority of trees are chopped down by humans, the temperatures in the forest will be extreme which can prove to be harmful to the flora and fauna.
A simple way to prevent deforestation in the Boreal Forest is to stop cutting down trees. However, since humans need wood for various resources such as firewood, shelter, construction etc., a more probable solution is to eliminate clear-cutting. This means when trees are cut down in the forest, new trees or saplings are planted in the area to replace the old trees. Although this strategy is already in used in other locations, the ratio of cut down trees to saplings to replace the cleared trees is unequal. There are fewer saplings to replace the trees than the amount of trees cut down in the forest, therefore the tactic is not one hundred percent efficient, but is better than the alternative.
If humans continue to cut down trees in the Boreal Forest, a large population of birds will need to find a new niche and living location including: warblers, siskins, thrushes, flycatchers, kinglets, grosbeaks, sparrows. It is also the "spring nursery" for 3 billion migrating birds. As for most of the species in the Boreal Forest, they will not survive the deforestation that will continually destroy their habitat. The trees in the forest absorb greenhouse gases. Without the trees to absorb these gases, the severity of global warming will increase. If deforestation continues in Banff, there will be more carbon released into the atmosphere, further adding to carbon emissions.
Deforestation also drives climate change. When the sun isn't blocked by trees, the soil can easily dry out. This can quickly turn a forest into an arid desert. Trees are also a main factor in the water cycle. They return water vapor into the atmosphere. Trees block the sun's rays during the day and hold heat in the nighttime. If all or the majority of trees are chopped down by humans, the temperatures in the forest will be extreme which can prove to be harmful to the flora and fauna.
A simple way to prevent deforestation in the Boreal Forest is to stop cutting down trees. However, since humans need wood for various resources such as firewood, shelter, construction etc., a more probable solution is to eliminate clear-cutting. This means when trees are cut down in the forest, new trees or saplings are planted in the area to replace the old trees. Although this strategy is already in used in other locations, the ratio of cut down trees to saplings to replace the cleared trees is unequal. There are fewer saplings to replace the trees than the amount of trees cut down in the forest, therefore the tactic is not one hundred percent efficient, but is better than the alternative.